Mom0012 Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I am considering having my dd try this program because I keep hearing so many great things about it. For those of you that are happy with it, is your child doing it with the text alone or are they also taking the online class? I have a feeling I will really dislike using the text on its own, but the classes are expensive. Also, it looks like AOPS offers quite a few texts from pre-algebra on up. Would a child be expected to use all of those? My original thought was to have dd do Saxon 8/7 next year in 6th grade and then Saxon algebra 1 followed by AOPS algebra? Any thoughts on that? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 The classes are fast paced from what I understand. That's the sole reason I didn't sign my son up. My 14yo uses the textbook, Alcumus, and the online videos. He did MUS pre-algebra, HOE, and jumped in at Intro To Algebra. Hard, but worth it, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 We have been using AoPS since Intro to Algebra (the prealgebra text was not out yet when we needed it) and it is the perfect fit for MY students. We love the program! We use the texts only; they are written to the student and do not require additional instruction. We prefer the books because they allow us to proceed at the student's pace. The classes are extremely fast paced. AoPS is a good fit only for a certain type of student who is strong in math and loves it and thrives on a discovery based method; the classes are a good fit for an even smaller subset because of the breakneck speed. AoPS offers all texts on the standard high school sequence (Intro to Algebra, Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus). In addition, there are books about topics that are not typically covered in the traditional high school sequence: Counting&Probability, Number Theory. These make great additional courses for students who want to spend more time on math or who need to spend a semester taking a detour before returning to the main sequence. Those topics are not usually taught, and the books are not a prerequisite for any of the main topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Thank you. I'll have to take a closer look at the texts. I was hoping the class would be motivating, but maybe it would be too much. My dd is a strong math student, so I keep feeling like I should put her in some highly conceptual program, but the reality is while she quickly understands the concept, she doesn't retain the info if there isn't any significant review. I thought a teacher might present things differently or add in more review so she'd get more out of the text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I am considering having my dd try this program because I keep hearing so many great things about it. For those of you that are happy with it, is your child doing it with the text alone or are they also taking the online class? I have a feeling I will really dislike using the text on its own, but the classes are expensive. Also, it looks like AOPS offers quite a few texts from pre-algebra on up. Would a child be expected to use all of those? My original thought was to have dd do Saxon 8/7 next year in 6th grade and then Saxon algebra 1 followed by AOPS algebra? Any thoughts on that? Thanks! We are using the online Pre-Algebra class. The Pre-A book is covered over the course of the school year. So, one semester is half the book. You take two semesters to cover the entire Pre-A book. If you are only interested in Algebra 1, it is covered in one semester. It is expensive. It is the priciest educational thing we have done, but for us it has been a good choice. I don't think my son would have got as much from just the book. If you want to see if it would be a good fit, you might consider adding in Alcumus to your Saxon program. Alcumus is an online math program from AoPS. It is free so it won't hurt to check it out. It gives the student questions and the student answers it. There isn't instruction, but I think solutions are given if the answer is incorrect. You can limit it to pre-A or Algebra 1 or whatever she is doing. When you take a AoPS class online, the assignments are done via Alcumus. We are planning to have him take the Algebra 1 class in the fall and then the Probability class in the spring semester. I think the pre-Algebra will have him well prepared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 We are using the online Pre-Algebra class. The Pre-A book is covered over the course of the school year. So, one semester is half the book. You take two semesters to cover the entire Pre-A book. If you are only interested in Algebra 1, it is covered in one semester. It is expensive. It is the priciest educational thing we have done, but for us it has been a good choice. I don't think my son would have got as much from just the book. If you want to see if it would be a good fit, you might consider adding in Alcumus to your Saxon program. Alcumus is an online math program from AoPS. It is free so it won't hurt to check it out. It gives the student questions and the student answers it. There isn't instruction, but I think solutions are given if the answer is incorrect. You can limit it to pre-A or Algebra 1 or whatever she is doing. When you take a AoPS class online, the assignments are done via Alcumus. We are planning to have him take the Algebra 1 class in the fall and then the Probability class in the spring semester. I think the pre-Algebra will have him well prepared. Thanks! I have an alcumus account set up for her, but I haven't found time to squeeze it in yet. Maybe we can try it over the next few weeks and see what we think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Can I ask what AoPS is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Art Of Problem Solving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 We use the texts only; they are written to the student and do not require additional instruction. We prefer the books because they allow us to proceed at the student's pace. The classes are extremely fast paced. AoPS is a good fit only for a certain type of student who is strong in math and loves it and thrives on a discovery based method; the classes are a good fit for an even smaller subset because of the breakneck speed. What she said. Also, I want dd to do all the problems in the textbook (to get our money's worth, LOL). I don't want her skimming through the books if she needs additional time. AoPS online classes will always be there (knock on wood). You can always sign up later. Save yourself the expense and try it on your own first. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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